Calvert Board Of Education Approves More Than $600,000 In Technology, Security Purchases

PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. — The Calvert County Schools’ Board of Education (BOE) approved more than $600,000 in purchases at its Aug. 13 meeting, including weapons detection systems, a new family communications platform, technology services and seating for the Calvert Planetarium.

The largest purchase was a three-year, $299,625 agreement for VMware Cloud Foundation, which supports several of Calvert County Public Schools’ core technology systems. The agreement includes software licensing, security updates, maintenance and vendor support.

The board also approved a three-year, $145,050 contract for ParentSquare, a communications platform designed to consolidate messages from schools, teachers and extracurricular programs into one system.

District officials said ParentSquare includes automatic language translation and integrates with the school system’s student information system. The district plans a gradual rollout, with the goal of eventually using it as the primary communication platform across CCPS.

Another $97,338 was approved for four portable CEIA OpenGate weapons detection systems.

The systems will initially be assigned to the county’s four high schools and used primarily at sporting events and other large gatherings. District officials said they are not currently planned for daily screening as students enter school. Staff will receive training on operating the equipment.

The board also approved $63,108 for new seating at the Calvert Planetarium. The project includes accessible seating and will give the renovated facility a capacity of 66 people.

The four purchases total approximately $605,000 and were approved unanimously by the BOE.

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